Energy ETF 'XOP' Leads Solid Weekly Inflows

When it comes to flows, the month of November ended just as it began―with big inflows into U.S. equity ETFs. According to the latest data from FactSet, investors added $7.1 billion to U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds in the week ending Thursday, Dec. 1. Most of the money went into U.S. equity funds, which had inflows of $6.8 billion. Year-to-date inflows now stand at $225.3 billion.

At one point this week, the S&P 500 hit another fresh record high above 2,214 before pulling back modestly by the end of the period. An unexpected cut in production by OPEC pushed energy equities sharply higher, but was offset by concerns about rising interest rates and a weekend referendum on polical reform in Italy.

International equity ETFs and U.S. fixed-income ETFs also had inflows of $833 million and $797 million, respectively, during the week. U.S. Treasurys continued to tumble, with the 10-year yield reaching 2.49% on Thursday.

Meanwhile, commodities were the worst ETF segment of the week. Outflows totaled more than $1 billion, once again due largely to the woes of the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD).

XOP & Junk Bonds In Favor
In terms of individual ETFs, the most notable winner was the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP). Its weekly inflows of just under $1 billion were huge for a fund that had less than $2 billion in assets at the start of the week.

OPEC's decision to cut production on Wednesday pushed WTI oil prices to more than $51, around the best levels of the year. That bodes well for XOP, an ETF that holds an equal-weighted basket of U.S. energy producers. 

A pair of junk bond ETFs also made the top 10 inflows list. The iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) saw inflows of $682 million, while the SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) had inflows of $395 million. For much of the year, high-yield bond ETFs and oil prices have been tied at the hip, as energy companies are some of the largest junk bond issuers.

Also making the cut for the top 10 was the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO). After surging in the weeks following Donald Trump's victory, the dollar stabilized this week, giving some relief to emerging market equities. VWO's inflows totaled $640 million.

Outflows Pile Up For GLD & UWTI
Tumbling gold prices scared more investors out of the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) this week. The world's largest physically backed gold fund had outflows of $810 million in a week in which gold prices fell as low as $1,160, their cheapest level since February. 

Another commodity-related flows loser was the VelocityShares 3x Long Crude Oil ETN (UWTI), with outflows of $428 million. UWTI and its sister ETN, the VelocityShares 3x Inverse Crude Oil ETN (DWTI), are scheuled to delist from the NYSE on Dec. 8. After that date, the products will only trade over-the-counter, if at all. 

Nevertheless, it was a good week for UWTI from a returns perspective. The leveraged ETN gained more than 30% in the week, thanks to surging oil prices. 

For a full list of this week's top inflows and outflows, see the tables below:
 

Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

ETF Weekly Flows By Asset Class

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.